Bank of Ireland is expanding its 24-hour Internet and telephone banking operations and will employ 250 people at a new facility in Kilkenny. It is examining further expansion options.
Its Banking 365 service employs 300 staff at Tallaght in Dublin. The new centre, to be based at Kilkenny's IDA Business and Technology Park, will provide services to Bank of Ireland customers throughout the Republic.
The bank is also seeking another location outside Dublin to provide additional facilities for Banking 365, including sites in Northern Ireland.
The Kilkenny unit will accommodate 500 staff and was secured following negotiations with Enterprise Ireland.
The Taoiseach said yesterday the move was a major positive step for the Government's strategy for regional development. "Added to the recently announced joint venture involving the bank and Nova Corporation, which will create up to 1,000 new jobs in Arklow, Co Wicklow, it demonstrates a strong and welcome commitment by Bank of Ireland to decentralisation," he said.
The announcement comes at a time when the bank is reorganising its business, increasingly shifting away from expensive branch networks to more efficient telephone and Internet services. It is implementing a €65 million (£51.2 million) staff severance package which is expected to see 700 of its 11,000 staff leave the bank.
